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Winter Holidays

  • The Blackest Friday of all

    The holiday season is about to get underway with what is expected to be the single greatest spending orgy in the history of commerce with more than $20 billion spent on Black Friday compared with $19.3 billion last year, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse.

  • DSW Q3 profit beats Street, raises full-year outlook

    Columbus, Ohio -- DSW Inc. reported Tuesday that net income increased to $53.7 million in the third quarter, up from $35.5 million a year earlier.

    Sales rose 8.5% to $530.7 million, from $489.3 million. Same-store sales increased 5.2%.

    The shoe retailer cited strong boot sales for the performance surge. “We are confident in our strategies and continue to expect fiscal 2011 to represent a strong year of growth, and as a result we have increased our annual guidance," said Mike MacDonald president and CEO.
     

  • Nielsen survey: Most Black Friday shoppers head to department stores

    New York City -- Nielsen’s annual Black Friday Shopping Survey, released Tuesday, found that 80% of consumers don’t plan to shop on Black Friday. Of those that do, 71% will head to department stores, 52% to electronics stores, 51% to mass merchandisers and discounters, 40% will shop online, 27% will visit toy stores and 23% will shop warehouse clubs.

  • Holidazed: Retail prices may creep up before Christmas

    If you’re someone who puts off your holiday shopping until the last minute to save a few bucks by scouring for the best “deals” and taking advantage of those absolute bargain basement prices, I’m afraid you may be in for a rude awakening this holiday shopping season. If my sense of the retail landscape is correct, I think it’s possible we’ll see prices increase as Christmas gets closer.

  • Out-of-stock drives customers out the store

    CHICAGO — Heading into Black Friday weekend, retailers would be wise to make sure their shelves are fully stocked. According to a study by Harris Interactive on behalf of Galleria Retail Technology Solutions, a provider of retail and category optimization solutions, nearly 70% of U.S. adults would avoid shopping at a retail store if they encountered empty shelves.

  • Study: Walmart has most engaged social media users

    San Francisco -- Walmart has the most engaged users across its social media platforms as the days count down to the holiday shopping season, according to a study by the social media and digital analytics company Socialbakers.

    Walmart has the most number of fans topping the list at over 10 million fans, with over 7,500 fan posts last month, Socialbakers said. The engagement rate represents fan interactions and although Target ties with an average monthly engagement rate, Walmart has nearly double the number of fans who are actively posting.

  • The return of the Target lady

    You’ve seen her in television commercials, that blonde-haired wacky lady dressed in red whose passion for shopping at Target knows no bounds. Advertising Age’s Natalie Zmuda interviewed the “Christmas Champ” recently to get her thoughts on off-season preparation and Black Friday strategy. Read the article here. 

  • JLL 'Spreads the Cheer' across managed mall portfolio

    Jones Lang LaSalle, Atlanta, has launched its annual “Spread the Cheer” holiday campaign -- featuring digital media innovations -- across its portfolio of managed shopping centers.

    To engage shoppers and drive sales and traffic during the most important retail season of the year, the firm will share insider intelligence on the best products and offers at its shopping centers through e-blasts, social media and text messages while also engaging them with events, giveaways and random acts of kindness across its 98 million-sq.-ft. nationwide retail portfolio.

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